CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 USC

12–⁠1 (6–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by John Robinson, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1978, game by game: won vs. Texas Tech 17–9; won at Oregon 37–10; won at No. 1 Alabama 24–14; won vs. Michigan State 30–9; lost at Arizona State 7–20; won vs. Oregon State 38–7; won vs. California 42–17; won at Stanford 13–7; won vs. No. 19 Washington 28–10; won at No. 14 UCLA 17–10; won vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 27–25; won at Hawai’i 21–5; won vs. No. 5 Michigan 17–10+31−13Won 17–9 vs. Texas Tech+8Texas TechWon 37–10 at Oregon+27OregonWon 24–14 at No. 1 Alabama+10No. 1 AlabamaWon 30–9 vs. Michigan State+21Michigan StateLost 7–20 at Arizona State-13Arizona StateWon 38–7 vs. Oregon State+31Oregon StateWon 42–17 vs. California+25CaliforniaWon 13–7 at Stanford+6StanfordWon 28–10 vs. No. 19 Washington+18No. 19 WashingtonWon 17–10 at No. 14 UCLA+7No. 14 UCLAWon 27–25 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame+2No. 8 Notre DameWon 21–5 at Hawai’i+16Hawai’iWon 17–10 vs. No. 5 Michigan+7No. 5 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vsTexas TechW 17–⁠969%
Sep 16atOregonW 37–⁠1078%
Sep 23at1AlabamaW 24–⁠1431%
Sep 29vsMichigan StateW 30–⁠976%
Oct 14atArizona StateL 7–⁠2059%
Oct 21vsOregon StateW 38–⁠789%
Oct 28vsCaliforniaW 42–⁠1772%
Nov 4atStanfordW 13–⁠754%
Nov 11vs19WashingtonW 28–⁠1067%
Nov 18at14UCLAW 17–⁠1051%
Nov 25vs8Notre DameW 27–⁠2558%
Dec 2atHawai’iW 21–⁠584%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5MichiganRose BowlW 17–⁠1051%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 17–⁠10 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Final: 2

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1978.

National championsa title the school claims

Pac-10 champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteCharles White, fourth

Led the nationPaul McDonald: passer rating (152.8); Charles White: rushing yards (1,859 yds)

2 consensus All-AmericansPat Howell, OG; Charles White, RB

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
318–⁠153
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1793 +161 this season
SP+ rating
34.7 No. 1 of 133; offense No. 6, defense No. 1
SRS
26.6 No. 2 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Lynn Cain and Rich Dimler

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 2Pat Howell OGAtlanta Falcons
Rd 4Lynn Cain RBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 4Calvin Sweeney WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Larry Braziel DBBaltimore Colts
Rd 5Rich Dimler DTCleveland Browns
Rd 6Tim Lavender DBDallas Cowboys

All-Pac-10

8 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠112–⁠12
UCLA6–⁠28–⁠3–⁠114
Washington6–⁠27–⁠4
Arizona State4–⁠39–⁠3
Stanford4–⁠38–⁠417
California3–⁠46–⁠5
Arizona3–⁠45–⁠6
Oregon2–⁠52–⁠9
Oregon State2–⁠63–⁠7–⁠1
Washington State1–⁠73–⁠7–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.